so phil began his second year of residency last month.  just in time for lauren’s arrival.  looking back, it appears that each of our children were born at just the *wrong* time– mikey came just before phil began third year of med school when he had to start taking overnight call.  allie came just before phil began intern year when his call schedule became more demanding and stressful.  and now lauren has arrived just as phil begins the year in which he has to take call on either friday or saturday of every week in addition to mid-week call and now it has been decided to extend the regular workday…

for her first haircut?      phil and i love her long hair and it’s never been cut before aside from her bangs two or three times.  but i’m tempted to have it cut (i wouldn’t attempt it myself!) because it’s so long that it now gets stuck under her armpits.  and the poor girl gets so hot that her whole head often is wet with sweat.  yuck.  but, i don’t know…  i don’t know…   and my other girl?  well, she wouldn’t be a tsai baby unless… her hair went up into that crazy mohawk for the next six months!  i thought that maybe, just maybe, she would escape the mohawk…

because i had a mother who made it painfully clear how much of a burden i was to her by routinely saying things like “i can’t wait until you’re 18 and out of my hair” or “only two more years until i’m not responsible for you anymore” (on my 16th birthday– one year before she kicked me out.  guess she couldn’t wait until i was 18 after all), i’m now left trying to figure out how to raise my daughters differently from the example i was given.  which is why i always panicked more when we found out we’re having a girl.  for some reason i tend to think boys are easier and…

we’re in the mall yesterday.  seizing a rare opportunity to do a little shopping, i slip into bbw.  leaving phil with all three kids.  soon after, i see a flustered phil standing in the doorway calling me to come out.  one child has vomited all over herself (why is it the ONE time phil has her, she throws up all over herself.  and it really is the first time– they seem to hold it in until i’m holding them and then let it all out.).  another child is whining for a pretzel.  and the last one is fussing in her infant seat. box of clothes in the mail.  allie runs…

i had to post an entry today– eight is my favorite number after all!  for no particular reason other than it’s been my favorite number ever since i was eight.  i was even hopeful that little lauren would be eleven days overdue and be born today.  far-fetched, i know, but that would’ve been totally cool.  but, at least there is an eight in each of my kids’ birthdays! not to mention that the olympics start today.  i loooove watching olympics.  needless to say, we’ll be watching quite a bit of tv in the coming days.  lin hao is my hero.